You know, like those people walking three or four abreast, blockading the entire sidewalk so nobody can get by...what are rude things people do on the sidewalk (and thereabouts)?

Feel free to include neighborhood encounters, dog-walking rudeness, and anything that happens in or around or relatively related to being a person out walking. (Grocery store aisle blockaders will be covered in another section.)

Comments

Ooo I love venting!

I work near the Children's Museum in Boston. On a regular basis I'll be leaving work to catch the train only to have to walk in the street because mobs of moms pushing their kids down the sidewalk in Ford F350 duellies will actually run me over before moving to the right. More than once I've had to flatten myself against a building to avoid having my feet run over. I'm almost 6 feet tall so I'm hard to miss...

To be fair, every now and then the mother will look at me with exasperation and say "sorry" as she is trying to corral her kids and their 50 best friends into a manageable two-kid-wide line. But it's those with an utter lack of self-awareness, are talking on their phone and ignoring their kids running amok - or worst of all, those who nearly mow me with a look of determined self-importance - that make me stop, turn around in her direction and say "Excuse you!".

Correcting strangers' bad behavior is itself a rudeness but I try to argue it's self-defense.

Another thing that isn't sidewalk related, but close: When I hold the door for someone and s/he walks through without even murmuring a "thanks". I give them a loud "YOU'RE WELCOME".

It really burns me how people just expect you to yield to them.

Posted by: Gretchen
at August 30, 2010 7:52 PM

Spitting anywhere I'm about to walk. GROSS. Now I have some random guy's slimy DNA on the bottom of my shoes, and then my gas pedal, then in my house...

Posted by: Lesley
at August 30, 2010 10:02 PM

Walking on the Minuteman Rail Trail (it runs from Cambridge to Bedford, Mass.), being nearly run down by bicyclists who fail to ring a bell or call out "On your left!"

I'm riding my bike on a paved trail. There's actually a white line down the middle so there are two 'sides'.

A woman is walking - dog NOT on a leash (illegal) - approaching me from the other direction.

The dog comes completely over into my path, won't move and I'm forced to come to a complete stop.

Of course she copped an attitude when I sarcastically thanked her for controlling her dog.

I wasn't tempted to run over the dog. It's not the dog's fault. But the human? Yep.

Posted by: jimg
at August 30, 2010 10:48 PM

I walk a pedestrian/bike trial every weekend (sidewalk?) with my dog - Anyway, I am a little jumpy to begin with, which is my issue not everyone else's. But what I can say, is how great it is when bikers when coming up behind a pedestrian will (not SHOUT) but loudly state "On your left..." or "On your right" because I don't typically hear them coming and either my dog or I could easily step into their path on accident. This helps quite a bit in avoiding an ugly cyclist/pedestrian/canine tangle. It is especially helpful since dogs usually are at their owner's left-hand side (that's how I was taught to walk dogs anyway).

Some bikers will whiz past me (a la "buzzing the towers"), so close and scare the snot out of me. I think it's good manners for cyclists to announce their approach to pedestrians, especially if they have some speed going. I always wave and say "thank you" when they do. They should probably also maintain a bit of caution with their speed when sharing a path with pedestrians.

And if it were a perfect world, people should be particularly conscious of stomping behind or closely tailing someone in front of them. When this happens, I don't ever get angry (because I know most people aren't aware of it) I just move quickly out of the way and let them pass. It just feels like an invasion of personal space when someone is nipping at your heels like that instead of trying to pass you. I can understand if there is no room for a pass...it's when the sidewalk is WIDE open but they are on the verge of peeling off the back of your sneaker with their hastened gate. Super annoying.

Posted by: Feebie
at August 30, 2010 11:33 PM

"gate" should have been gait in this context.

Posted by: Feebie
at August 30, 2010 11:36 PM

Speaking of the few mentions of walking dogs above.. how about the general attitude of too many dog owners that don't properly leash their dogs. I walk my dog twice every day and I keep her on her leash at all times. In the 8-1/2 years I've had her, she's been attacked by dogs off-leash 5 times, 2 ended up requiring stitches (one required minor surgery to repair the tear underneath the surface).

Every time the owners claim things like: "s/he never behaves like this." "I was only walking a short distance to the car (or similar)" Or they just blame the dog for getting out of the yard.. once or twice I can see as a problem dog (or the dog is just too smart), but I have at least one neighbor who's dog gets out nearly daily. It's a little yip-yip barking dog too.. the only dog mine seems intent on killing if she could get a hold of it (she's otherwise a wuss). Sometimes, if the people are there, they'll get the dog and sort of apologize, but it's gone so far beyond the occasional mishap and well into complete neglect by now that the words are meaningless. I feel sorry for their little daughter who loves the dog, because it's a tiny black dog that gets out at all hours and is going to get run over (or killed by another animal) one of these days.

As a dog owner, I not only always leash my dog but always err on the side of caution and shorten the leash while moving aside when we come upon people while walking. I also always pick up after my dog.

People who text and walk drive me batty. They are so focused on their phone, they have absolutely no awareness people behind, cars traveling on the street, etc. They tend to walk slowly and without direction ruining the flow of people walking and are also likely to walk into something. Not only are they rude, but they are putting themselves in danger if they are in a busy area.

If I need to text, I make sure I'm seated somewhere or that my back is against a wall.

Posted by: Janet C
at August 31, 2010 12:24 AM

Not really sure where to put this one, as it happened on public transportation....

Eight years ago, I was pregnant with my first child, and riding the DC Metro to work. When I say pregnant, I mean 10 days away from delivery. Huge. And it was the end of May, so I was in a short sleaved dress. Long and the short of it, there was no mistaking I was pregnant.

Each Metro car has two sets of seats in the middle that are clearly marked "Please reserve for the handicapped and elderly". Sitting in two of those seats were two able-bodied 20 something staff assistants from the Hill (I could see their Hill ID cards on their neck lanyards). So I got on, huge and pregnant, and they didn't move. Whatever. I'm pregnant, not disabled.

But at the next stop, an elderly woman with a CANE got on, and still these little brats didn't move. Even as this woman shuffled over...nothing.

The doors close, and I look at these two girls and say "Really? You're going to sit there and trade office gossip, completely oblivious to the fact that there is someone here who is allowed BY LAW to have that seat?"

I kid you not, one of the girls looks at me and the old lady and says "We were here first, bitch."

I damn near slapped her, but the old lady gently put her hand on my arm and said "Honey, she's just not worth it."

I spent the rest of the ride praying that my water would break all over them. That would have been awesome.

Posted by: UW Girl
at August 31, 2010 12:30 AM

@UW Girl, I lived in DC, too, and I once saw a guy taking up BOTH handicapped seats-- he was sitting on one and had his legs draped out over the other one--and taking up two seats on the Metro is rude no matter where you're sitting!

My story is related.

To be fair, those handicapped seats could be better labled. Unless you happen to look up, you won't see the sign (which looks much like any other advertisement on the Metro), and, to the uninitiated, they might look like just any other seat.

I, too, was once new to the DC Metro. And I sat in one of those seats without realizing it (I was frazzled and still concentrating more on finding my way around the system than on where I was sitting).

A 60-something-old woman comes up to me and says (in a sarcastic tone), "Excuse me. You're probably busy Tweeting or something (I was texting), so that means you can read, right?"

I nod.

And she goes, "Well, clearly the words on that sign are too big for you."

I look up, see the sign, apologize profusely, and vacate the seat.

...but I still would have done so, had she simply pointed out the sign in a civil, rather than insulting, way.

So, I hereby submit HER as a rude person for this post. :)

Posted by: sofar
at August 31, 2010 2:11 AM

Lunch Break

Begin exodus from the building by elevator going down.
Each floor as we descend, others board to fill the small space sardine-style.
Finally at street level, everyone disgorges.
Ah, the great outdoors! Fresh air!

Sixty minutes to eat lunch, run errands, or take a walk.
The first several minutes spent in the elevator with people-I-don’t-know.
We all flow out to the sidewalk together.
So far, so good.

We approach the twenty-feet-from-the-doorway mark.
Many aforementioned people-I-don’t-know have been waiting to do one thing.
They all light up.
I can’t breathe.

Posted by: Lauren
at August 31, 2010 3:01 AM

It's 11:11 pm, 8/30 on the East Coast. Are Lauren et al in Europe?

UW Girl, your story reminds me of a joke:

A gentleman is riding the bus when an attractive young woman boards. The bus is full, and she walks up to him and says "Sir, would you mind giving your seat to a pregnant woman?"

As he's a gentleman, he immediately surrenders his seat and grabs an overhead strap. He regards the woman for a moment and notices she is quite slender, so he says "May I ask how long you've been pregnant?"

"About 10 minutes, and boy am I tired!"

Posted by: DaveG
at August 31, 2010 4:16 AM

Seems we're on London time.

Posted by: DaveG
at August 31, 2010 4:19 AM

UW Girl - Your story is oh so typical. I live in the bay area, and BART is the public transit out here.

BART riders infuriate me. And it's typically only the women- 30-somethings to 50-somethings (in heels no less) who give their seats to elderly or disabled people because there are able bodied men (and some young women) from 20-50's who won't do it. And this includes those seats that "Federal Law requires these seats be made available to seniors and those with disabilities". Just infuriating.

There was one elderly woman who got on a crowded car and no one got up - not even people in the other seats. (I've noticed, all the men will take their newspapers and use it as an excuse shield as if to say "If I don't see you, I won't have to give up my seat". Every once an a while you'll see them peak out and then throw the corner back up and continue reading...total. assholes). So this lady is standing for about 10 minutes before she took a nose dive, and I mean "TIIIMMMBBBEEERRR" nose dive into the aisle way. FINALLY, some jerk gave her his seat.

There was a blind man that use to get on the same car as me at the same time every morning. I use to offer my arm to him to help him into the train, almost every morning. When we got on, if no one got up, which was about half the time - I would just start reading; "Federal Law requires...." loudly. I figured if they weren't going to be decent, I would make sure everyone on that car knew it. And they always got up - reluctantly, but they did.

My favorite was the time when a WWII veteran (he had one of those hats) got on the train (by this time, I was purposely sitting in the senior/disabled seats - saving them because I WOULD get up for someone who needed it) and I went to get up and he held his hand out and shook his head. I was perplexed. He then walked straight over to a man in his early twenties and gave him "the look". I nearly DIED watching this 20 year old scamper out of the seat so fast you would have thought the thing had caught fire. When the vet sat down he kinda looked at me and gave me a nod and a tip of his had with this grin on his face. I grinned back. Damn, I love those men!

Posted by: Feebie
at August 31, 2010 6:03 AM

Miguelito: a suggestion? How about bringing along a small squirt bottle? Usually effective against most dogs, and not actually injuring an animal. If an owner were to get pissy with you about it, they're just posturing; there's no harm. Then you can squirt them for behaving like an aggressive yappy dog as well.

Posted by: Juliana
at August 31, 2010 11:40 AM

I started working as a crossing guard at the kids school last week. WOW. Parents honking at me when I stop them to let kids cross. Parents blowing right past me and my stopsign, nearly hitting me and a kid who was on the crosswalk. Parents blithly hauling their kid across the street when I'm NOT stopping traffic. Parents ignoring me when I smile and say "good morning".

Or, when I'm walking with my stroller (it's an in-line one, takes up no more width than a thin person) and a few people are walking abreast (and they're ALWAYS fat) coming towards me, and none of them will move aside to make a skinny path by, so i am forced to yank my stroller either into the road or up into a yard. Those things are heavy!

There are also the people who put their garbage cans on the sidewalk on trash day, instead of on the side of the street, so everyone has to walk in the street to get around them.

And the people who park their cars covering the sidewalk, so you have to walk in the street to get around them. Hello, you HAVE a 2 car garage, feel free to use it!

Posted by: momof4
at August 31, 2010 2:15 PM

Just great, momof4, and everybody. And the person with the most ability to move should. It's amazing that they don't. How rude!

Okay, I'm not talking about a rough neighborhood. St. Charles, Mo. is considered to be a pretty nice area in fact. But it's not much for the pedestrian. I used to walk the mile and a half to work. I was nineteen years old, wearing my hostess uniform which consisted of jeans and a t-shirt.

On more than one occasion, I was solicited for sex. I was followed by leering old men going very slow in their vehicles. It really got so bad that I felt like I had to carry bear mace, in the on position, in my pocket at all times. Taxi drivers stopping and asking, "do you wanna make some money?" and a wink. Or that one woman...what kind of mother solicits sex from a complete stranger for her son?

Posted by: Cat
at August 31, 2010 3:10 PM

People who are walking, and then ABRUPTLY STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIDEWALK. Tourist destinations are notoriously terrible for this. I was recently in San Francisco, and encountered a number of couples and families sauntering (not even strolling, sauntering) down the street. It was hard enough to get around these people because they usually walked in one giant mass, but the most fun was then they decided to stop (saw something interesting in the window, needed to tie a shoelace, felt like checking the cell phone) and came to a very sudden and unexpected stop without moving to the side. More than once this caused me to plow into the person, who then scowled at me like I was some kamikaze pedestrian who was out to knock them over. I still apologize out of reflex when I do this (I am Canadian, after all), and the best part is that the person doesn't even say anything to me, like an apology is the least I can offer. Needless to say I am trying to remember to say something rude next time, Canadian or not.

Posted by: Kraven
at August 31, 2010 3:54 PM

Or, when I'm walking with my stroller ... and a few people are walking abreast (and they're ALWAYS fat) coming towards me, and none of them will move aside to make a skinny path by, so i am forced to yank my stroller either into the road or up into a yard.
--------
momof4,
do not get out of their way. I come to a complete stop and make them walk around me. Works every time.

Posted by: Ingrid
at August 31, 2010 4:21 PM

Actually, a psychological secret I've discovered: whether you're walking or walking with a stroller, if you don't appear to be noticing that there are people coming at you (i.e., you're not making eye contact/looking at them), they'll walk around you. Ingrained crash aversion psychology, perhaps. Some might say this is rude, but it's really just encouraging others to behave the way they should have in the first place -- moving out of the way for the elderly person or the person who has the hardest time getting out of the way.

I have four kids under 5 so to walk anywhere is a hassle. i have a stroller for my youngest and a wagon for my other 3 so you can only imagine what thats like. I try to make a point, when i am driving to stop, regardless of who it is (old, young, with or with out child, ect.)not only for the fact in my state of CO, it is the law to yeild for pedestrians at crosswalks, but out of courtesy. many times i have come to an intersection marked as so, and i had to waited for what seemed like 10 min, for traffic to clear. people. remember that you will get to where your going faster than someone on foot, so take the 2 minutes to stop and let them cross. and if your the person whos walking, give the driver a nod, in apreciation.

Posted by: louisa
at August 31, 2010 5:46 PM

"Just great, momof4, and everybody. And the person with the most ability to move should."

Agree completely. Kinda like the 'rules of the road' for watercraft. The most maneuverable boat must keep clear.

At any rate - a story about how, IMO, it *should* work on public transportation.

Portland OR city streetcar, mid day on a Saturday. The car is about two thirds full, with about half those on board standing and the other half sitting. This leaves about 6 or 7 seats open. Some are designated for the disabled and elderly with the usual signage. I and 4 of my friends get on board, note the distribution of passengers, and all of us grab hand straps.

Next stop: An elderly couple and several other younger folks get on board. One or two folks sit down, but most grab hand straps. The more mobile of the two elderly folks (the wife in this case) heads toward an empty pair of seats, but while on the way to her target, kinda looks around at all the standees, and is clearly perplexed as to why nobody is sitting in the half dozen empties. As she gets closer to the seats, she slows down, evidently changes her mind, and hesitantly grabs a hand strap.

Her husband, clearly looking forward to the relief that the empty seat is going to provide for his somewhat stooped frame, makes a bee-line for the pair of seats, and sits down. At this point, and noticing the unoccupied seat next to him, he looks up to see where his wife is. She is about 10' away, by this point looking rather pleased with herself, and they make eye contact.

He looks at the empty seat next to him, and then begins to look around the cabin of the train, with his eyes going from person to person. By now the train is in motion. For the next minute or two, he looks around the car, clearly wrestling with some internal struggle.

As the car slows down for the next stop, he evidently makes up his mind. To smiles from everybody in the car (not a word had been spoken by anybody, but many of the riders were closely following this small story) the old man rises to his feet, shuffles over to a handle about 15' feet from his wife, grabs on, and stands a little straighter.

As the train slowed to a stop, the next batch of folks climbed aboard.

Not one of them sat down.

I love Portland.

Posted by: railmeat
at August 31, 2010 6:08 PM

Posted in the wrong blog. My bad.

Apologies.

Posted by: railmeat
at August 31, 2010 6:26 PM

For some reason, many people don't understand the purpose of a door. It is a narrow entryway big enough for 1-2 people. You are supposed to walk through it, not stop in it. This is even more important when we're talking about subways or buses that are only open for a limited period of time.

Similarly, when crossing the street, don't step onto the curb and just stop--get out of the way of the other people who are walking there! I want to body-check tourists who stretch out along the sidewalk width to converse about 10 times a day in New York.

Posted by: Brian
at August 31, 2010 7:48 PM

Similarly, when crossing the street, don't step onto the curb and just stop--get out of the way of the other people who are walking there!

This makes me nuts. I have some sympathy for tourists, especially ones from smaller towns. I'm sure they're not used to having to be aware of so many people. But I hate having to make sudden course corrections to avoid plowing into people.

Posted by: MonicaP
at September 1, 2010 2:40 PM

I am a religious dog-poop-picker-upper. I ALWAYS carry poop bags and I ALWAYS use them. To do otherwise would be rude, inconsiderate, and gross.

So, I'm walking down the sidewalk with my dog in my(usually) very friendly neighborhood in DC. I am carrying one of my specially designed tiny little dog poop bags that easily tuck into my pockets. My dog has not even made the appearance of doing his business yet - no squats, no pro-longed sniffings, nothing. I pass a woman and give her a big, cheery, "Good Morning!" which is par for the course in my strange, 1950s-esque 'hood. She puts on her snootiest voice possible and says, "I guess your dog doesn't have bowel movements." I say, "I'm sorry?" She says it again and adds, "because I don't see your plastic bag."

Because it's in my pocket, you nosey b**ch! Apparently I have to carry a 2 foot wide, fluorescent orange bag clearly labeled, "DOG POOP" around my neck or I'm going to get into trouble with the dog poop police.

I was also shouted at from a car window for the same reason a month before that.

I am all for correcting rude people, but to correct them before they've actually done something is just as rude.

Posted by: Rozzy
at September 2, 2010 10:21 PM

Dog walking: right after I got my 4-month-old rescue puppy I was walking him early enough in the morning that it was still dark. A man and a snarling, shrieking, lunging Jack Russell approached. They did not cross the street. Not knowing how my new puppy would react to an aggressive (if tiny) dog, I pulled him out of reach, had him sit, and fed him treats to reward his calm behavior. (He was very good!) The man, sounding exactly like his dog, snarled "Just move on!," as though I had less right to the sidewalk. I said "You know, you could be a little nicer." He hissed back "I don't need your shit!"

What blew my mind is that he was my neighbor. We live in a pretty nice neighborhood, one where it's surprising to encounter such forceful hostility. I very much doubt he would have been so bold in broad daylight, but since we couldn't see each others' faces it was as anonymous as the Internet to him. I see him and his freaknut nasty dog all the time, but he now crosses the street when he sees me coming. Tee hee. I do believe he did need my shit.

Posted by: L
at September 2, 2010 11:01 PM

A few years ago, there was some construction being done to a building on the corner of a very busy (for my city) downtown intersection. As a result of the construction, a metal frame had been built over the sidewalk (entrances at the intersection and at the end of the building), so people could still get through, but it was much narrower. There was room for 3 people across, at most. Comfortably, you could have a single-file stream of people in each direction.

So one day at lunch, people are streaming through in each direction. At the intersection, there's a guy who is trying to get signatures - or maybe sell something. All I know for sure is that he had a clipboard and some papers and a pen.

He gets the attention of the guy in front of me, and they stop to talk. INSIDE the walkway. Blocking the path thoroughly enough that the folks coming from the other direction are having to squeeze around them. I can't move, because they're standing right in front of me.

I wait 30 seconds or so. They're still absorbed in conversation.

So I said (loudly, but not yelling) "Excuse me!" They look at me like they're surprised to find I'm there. Then they move over a bit so I can get through.

As I'm passing them, the guy with the clipboard says either "rude much?" or "rude bitch". Whichever. I don't care. It was the final straw. I turned around and (walking backward) said "not as rude as BLOCKING THE WALKWAY".

The guy looked genuinely shocked. He couldn't believe that I'd reacted rather than just accepting his assertion that I was rude.

Posted by: jen
at September 3, 2010 1:48 PM

"I just move quickly out of the way and let them pass. It just feels like an invasion of personal space when someone is nipping at your heels like that instead of trying to pass you. I can understand if there is no room for a pass...it's when the sidewalk is WIDE open but they are on the verge of peeling"

I totally agree with that & everything else you said! Thanks.
I hate being closely followed whether on foot or car.

Posted by: siobhan
at September 4, 2010 1:19 PM

Smokers in the public right of way who have no consideration for others can be pretty rude. Our family went to a street fair yesterday- a supposedly family-friendly event. Extremely crowded, but the worst was all the smokers dangling their lit cigars and cigarettes as they pushed through the crowd. One oblivious smoker's cigar hit my arm as he passed us. Ouch! The clouds of smoke did not enhance the experience either.

Posted by: quikaa
at September 5, 2010 2:49 PM

"I started working as a crossing guard at the kids school last week. WOW. Parents honking at me when I stop them to let kids cross. Parents blowing right past me and my stopsign, nearly hitting me and a kid who was on the crosswalk. Parents blithly hauling their kid across the street when I'm NOT stopping traffic. Parents ignoring me when I smile and say "good morning".

Or, when I'm walking with my stroller (it's an in-line one, takes up no more width than a thin person) and a few people are walking abreast (and they're ALWAYS fat) coming towards me, and none of them will move aside to make a skinny path by, so i am forced to yank my stroller either into the road or up into a yard. Those things are heavy!

There are also the people who put their garbage cans on the sidewalk on trash day, instead of on the side of the street, so everyone has to walk in the street to get around them.

And the people who park their cars covering the sidewalk, so you have to walk in the street to get around them. Hello, you HAVE a 2 car garage, feel free to use it!"Posted by: momof4 at August 31, 2010 2:15 PM

Excuse me...why does no one mention that this cute little dig "and they're ALWAYS FAT" is, itself, a flagrant display of rudeness?

Has no one taught you that calling people FAT is RUDE?

Make sure your own nose is clean before you go handing out tissues to others.

Posted by: AAK
at September 6, 2010 6:20 AM

Excuse me...why does no one mention that this cute little dig "and they're ALWAYS FAT" is, itself, a flagrant display of rudeness? Has no one taught you that calling people FAT is RUDE? Make sure your own nose is clean before you go handing out tissues to others.

What gets me in rudeness and walking is grocery stores. And Costco. In some grocery stores, people mostly seem to be oblivious, taking up the entire aisle with 1 body and a shopping cart, which drives me *crazy* (especially the 3rd time in 10 minutes it happens). I say excuse me or squeeze past, and to be fair, people are always reasonably nice about it, but you have to wonder what they were thinking.

In Costco, there have been days when I walked in a reasonably normal person and walked out thinking that if one more person acted like they'd run me over with their shopping cart if I didn't get out of their way *this* second, I was going to scream. I don't know why, I've found this seems to happen much more in Costco (full of yuppies?) than in Wal-Mart or Target.

Posted by: KrisL
at September 7, 2010 1:18 AM

Gum. Anyplace really but on the sidewalk especially. And dog poop on the sidewalk.

If escalators can be considered sidewalks for the purpose of this post, why would anyone stop at the very bottom of an escalator, with all their luggage, kids, grandparents, etc. and start looking for her keys or coins or whatever? I see this at the airport all the time. Similarly, how hard is "stand right, walk left" to figure out on those moving sidewalks?

Posted by: Tom S
at September 8, 2010 4:40 AM

People anywhere, anywhen who stand in large groups chatting away while others have to squeeze past them. This particularly annoys me in shopping centres where there are stalls in the centre of the walkways...

Posted by: Sonja
at September 8, 2010 8:36 AM

Here's one that always annoys me:

People who get to the bottom (or top) of an escalator, step off the escalator, and STOP to look around and get their bearings.

The people behind you on an escalator cannot stop. It's like Lucy and Ethel at the chocolate factory. We ain't stopping.

Move to the side before you stop.

Posted by: Conan the Grammarian
at September 8, 2010 8:49 PM

I'm with Feebie on this one! I'm so sick of rude cyclists on the sidewalk who have no bell on the bike and/or give no warning that the are coming. They come up on pedestrians so fast and so close one of them nicked my hand once and also nearly ran over my dog on another occasion. It's got so bad where I live that I don't go walking anymore because of it. I used to take my dog for a long walk everyday, but there is nowhere to walk where I'm (and my dog) not in danger of being run down by a cyclist on the sidewalk. There's a reason it's called a sideWALK, it's for WALKING NOT BIKING! I don't mind people riding on the sidewalk, though, because I know the rude drivers in the street make it too dangerous for cyclists. I just think cyclists need to be more courteous, pedestrians should always have the right of way on the sidewalk. Cyclists should ring a bell or yell or make some sort of noise and if not heard (I'm sure deaf people like to take walks too) they need to slow down and give a wide berth. What if someone turns around suddenly not knowing a bike is bearing down on them? That's how my hand got hit.

Posted by: TheOneFive
at September 15, 2010 11:56 PM

This isn't about people on sidewalks but a story of me getting robbed on a sidewalk in New Orleans 10 days ago at night.

I was taking a picture with my iPhone when some guy came up behind me and grabbed it out of my hand and ran off with it. I took off after him yelling God only knows what trying to get someone to stop him or hoping that he would trip and fall and I could have a chance of catching him and getting my phone back. Unfortunately no one helped me and he got away. Also, my sweater had fallen off my purse (my purse was across my chest and it was draped over it) and within 1 minute someone had stolen it off the dirty street. I returned to my friend (who didn't know where I went and thought I got abducted!) and told her what happened. It sucked that my phone got stolen but I immediately called and canceled the service so I didn't have to worry about random charges. It could have been worse. It could have been my wallet or car instead of a simple cell phone. What surprised me was when I told people I chased a guy through the streets of New Orleans, they didn't say "wow" or "good for you" they said "that wasn't safe!" and "what were you thinking!?". Honestly I didn't think at all. My instinct was to chase the bastard, hopefully get him to the ground, disable him, get my phone back, take his picture, and make an example out of him. I heard about your book yesterday, bought it on my way home and have made it through about half of it. I'm glad there's people out there that are willing to be Costly Punishers! I should make a shirt to warn people. haha. Thanks for writing the book and doing your part to take down the rude people!

I've heard that in NYC at some intersections you will see an old brick sitting on the curb. It is used by pedestrians wishing to cross at the crosswalk without being menaced by drivers. They hold it high, brandishing the brick openly. Any driver threatening their space gets the brick. At the end of the crosswalk, they put down the brick on the other curb, ready for use by another pedestrian headed in the other direction.

Posted by: Luke Smith
at January 20, 2011 8:46 AM

This is utterly ridiculous. I lived in New York for years. You've perhaps also heard the one about the alligators in the sewers?

Was in Chicago this weekend and encountered so many rude Pedestrians that I couldn't believe it! The one that got me the most was a couple with a stroller at the Lincoln Park zoo Sunday afternoon walking toward me on the left side of the sidewalk 2 wide, dad pushing the stroller like a steam roller!! If I had not moved he would have plowed into me with it!! I did brush his shoulder as we passed and I looked back at him and he never turned around!

Posted by: Dan
at April 11, 2011 6:19 PM

This is how I knew I was starting menopause. My husband and I were in San Francisco and staying at a hotel where the line to get a taxi was very long. We thought we would walk up the street and around the corner and maybe we could find a cab there. We saw a cab, my husband waved him over, he stopped, my husband opened the door for me, and some woman runs over and tries to jump in the cab! I didn't even think before I reached over, grabbed her arm, yanked her out of the cab, and said sorry, this is our cab! We got in the cab and my husband said wow, I have never seen you act like that! I said I guess I was a bit upset, and the cab driver says gee lady, I wouldn't want you mad at me, and we all laughed. I hope she fell down in the gutter where she belongs.

Posted by: sarah brown
at April 19, 2011 1:36 AM

When a big mob of friends / acquaintances walking together side by side, taking up the whole sidewalk, won't break their front-line formation for someone walking in the other direction. I weigh 120 pounds, you can't give me the SLIVER of sidewalk space I need to pass by you sideways instead of stepping off into the rain-flooded street?

Posted by: gaba
at August 3, 2011 9:37 AM

I encounter rude pedestrians too, the ones who walk in pairs and take up the room without leaving me space to pass. A question: should I just walk on the road for two seconds and pass without bumping, or should I be "assertive" and stand my ground, risk having my personal space invaded and getting mad? Some days, I feel like a doormat for often moving for others.

Any advice/feedback is most appreciated, thank-you!

Posted by: terri
at August 22, 2011 4:07 AM

A trick, which also helps get cars to stop for you in Rome (instead of running you down): If you don't appear to be looking ahead (ie, if you don't appear to see them), they'll avoid you instead of expecting you to avoid them.

"A question: should I just walk on the road for two seconds and pass without bumping, or should I be "assertive" and stand my ground, risk having my personal space invaded and getting mad?"

I just stop. They either have to run into me or move around me. I get to glare at them while they figure out what they're going to do.

Posted by: Steve Daniels
at September 11, 2011 6:02 PM

I work on a college campus and sometimes leave to go home about the time the football team is breaking up afternoon practice. As they cross the road from the practice field to the locker room they string themselves out so that for minute after minute there's always SOMEONE in the cross-walk (where there is no traffic light) and vehicular traffic in both directions just stops and backs up further and further. Couldn't these pedestrians stop and wait on the sidewalk and let the cars go by, then cross when there's a whole bunch of them to cross together?
Other students are similarly inconsiderate. There are some streets you just don't want to try to get through when classes change.

Posted by: Lucy
at October 8, 2011 3:43 AM

I'm on the downside of 50 now. While waiting for Mrs. Teflon to get her hair done, I was sitting in the waiting area. An older (than me - maybe 60?) couple came in, so I got up and offered my seat as only one other seat was open. Mr. Older thanked me graciously but declined. I was stunned when the teenage lad with them sat down in the seat Mrs. Older should have had. Oy.

Posted by: Mr Teflon
at June 30, 2012 5:50 AM

Late to the table, but hopefully this is still relevant:

I am constantly surprised, as I navigate Minneapolis's beautiful skyway system, at how many people forget the basic "keep to the right" rule we all learned in the halls in kindergarten. It's a two-way street, pal, and YOU'RE IN MY LANE. This isn't even necessarily a transgression limited to the oblivious cellphone users. Do they not teach basic traffic patterns in schools anymore?

Posted by: Grey Ghost
at April 5, 2013 9:36 PM

I went to Disney World. Total nightmare, but I did it for my kids. After a few hours with dealing with the way people either don't pay attention where they're walking, or reserve the feeling of entitlement to where they're walking, or walk 2+ abreast in a "chorus line" and didn't care if other single walkers have to dodge them, I finally said F' it. I'm not dodging them any longer.

It was mostly girls and women. I have no disrespect for the other sex ... I'm just stating fact. I had my family walk single file when we would go through a crowd. But (mainly, but not always) girls would walk side-by-side, sometimes 3 or 4 wide, directly at my family, and WE would have to turn nearly 90° and go around their chorus line because they would not fall in line. So, I finally got tired of that.

I began to do exactly what they were doing. I just walked straight ahead. I took the caboose of my family's line, and when the family would dodge, I would just continue on straight. I'm a big dude. I would just act entitled just like all these people did and I would NOT change my direction. For those cases where a couple elderly ladies pulled this crap on me, I would just stop and hold my ground, and make them break their chorus line and go around me. Why don't these people make any effort to form a line?

It became a (personal) game after a while. And man, did some people get plowed! I started enjoying it after a while! Because the only people who got plowed were the inconsiderate ones entitled types ... I was being just like them. But I was BIGGER! :-D The Asian folks didn't seem to have any problems of this nature. Asian men, women, children seem aware and respectful and attempted to form lines. And in the case of still going head-on with them, if they were making an attempt to form a line, I wouldn't mess with them. I would dodge if that's what they were doing also.

And then there were (usually younger girls) who would be coming from the side and going to cross my path at around 90°... instead of waiting 1 second to cross behind me, as there was NOONE there, invariably they would step RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, like I wasn't even there. I put a couple of them on the ground, and didn't even break stride. It was great. They wouldn't even change their direction to avoid me. So I decided I would do the same. If a collision were going to occur, I would do the same as their intention. I would make them stop or change direction (that's what they wanted me to do) or else BOOM. Guess who was bigger? :-D

The only people (just stating fact, 90% women) who didn't get plowed was the elderly and those carrying infants.

Call me rude, because YES I WAS! Just like those who I had dodged for hours.

For those people who have even considered doing such a thing like this, if you actually don't do it, don't be dissappointed. Because someone actually did (me), and it was highly satisfying.

I heard remarks of "how rude." But I didn't turn, made no indication that I heard anything, and best of all, made no indication that I had even touched them ... much less plow them.

All the pent up stress I had inside from dealing and dodging these people just melted away.

Don't get me wrong, I still walked in a very normal logical direction & strategy. I didn't aim at anyone. But if they came at me, or stepped in front of me with their air of entitlement that their chorus line has the right of way, trust me, their chorus line got breached! As I said, I'm big, like a pro football player, and these confrontations never altered my gait, momentum, stride, nothing. It was like they weren't even there.

Oh my ... it was so stress relieving. I was hoping I could meet a chorus line at a 90° angle and plow them all down like dominos ... but it never quite worked out. :-D

Posted by: Frank McKinley
at November 6, 2013 9:48 PM

I was waiting for a bus and I'll be darn if some young kid (about 18-21 yrs. old) was yakking on his phone while riding his bicycle. He blew through a "don't walk" in the crosswalk and he did not see that a truck was trying to make a turn out of the parking lot. The driver of the pickup had to back up so that this rude kid can blow through the sidewalk and I had to get out of his way for my safety. I felt sorry for the person driving the pickup since it was not his or her fault that this kid was not paying any attention to traffic and safety.

Posted by: Anonymous
at January 7, 2014 1:00 AM

I hate it when the bus stop is by some school that has no respect for other people. There are many people waiting to board and these rotten students are either skateboarding or bicycling while having earphones in their ears. They are very rude and confrontational towards the passengers and I have had to tell some of these kids off for their boisterous behavior towards the passengers (many of them with disabilities heading back from the doctor. (there is a medical facility next door to the school)). In addition to the students being rude, I've noticed rude bike behavior from the school employees!
In addition, some of the students have flashed inappropriate gestures towards me and the others.

Posted by: Family Member
at January 25, 2014 1:35 AM

An elderly woman and I were waiting for a bus on the sidewalk and we were near the curb. This young college student who was riding a bicycle with a small child onboard was very rude to the woman and I and almost barreled into both the elderly woman and me and said "excuse me" three seconds too late. She was very sassy and unapologetic. There was enough room for her to ride around us or even walk her bike through the bus stop instead of being argumentative. I also saw her almost barrel into a person who was getting off the same bus at a different stop near the crosswalk. Turns out the girl rode against the light and tried the same stunt.
I feel sorry for the small child whose mom lacks manners.

Posted by: Bus Traveler
at February 3, 2014 6:44 PM

Oh this one takes the cake, I was walking down my street, on the way home and far up ahead, there were two medium sized dogs running around the street, unattended. As I walked up a few feet (away from the dogs), they follow me and they were vicious as you-know-what. Therefore, I had to take a different path since the owner, who was outside, but did not give a care that his dogs were running loose. I felt that owner, who was in his early 20s, should be a responsible dog owner and keep an eye on his dogs and either watch them or keep them in the backyard. It's not the dog in this case, it was the owner who was allowing the dogs to be vicious.
My advice for dog owners: Please be a responsible owner and watch your pets-we are not their babysitters!

Posted by: Anonymous
at February 17, 2014 1:22 AM

I cannot stand pet owners who allow their dogs to go #2 on the sidewalk and not pick it up, in addition, people who chew bubblegum and throw it on the sidewalk. No one wants dog doo or other people's germs on their soles.

Posted by: Unhappy Neighbor
at February 22, 2014 5:41 AM

I cannot stand arrogant pedestrians who do not care to look to see if there is any traffic. It was around nighttime when my friend was making a turn (there were some spoiled butt youngsters who did not pay attention to my friend.) My friend did see that they were still on the sidewalk waiting for traffic to go by. Then when my friend made the turn, these kids chose not to wait for my friend to make the turn and started shouting towards my friend. Luckily, we ignored these attention seeking brats who have no common sense to wait to cross when a car is turning. It is called look both ways before you cross and if you see someone turning, then WAIT. I'm sick and tired of ignorant people who refuse to look both ways before crossing and who whine when they don't get their way.

Posted by: Female
at March 13, 2014 3:59 PM

I'm a slender woman in my thirties who is child free by choice so when I power walk I move quickly taking up little space with no distractions while I walk. I'm a polite walker and greet people with a quick nod.

I adhere to the common rules of the road such as "stay to the right of the sidewalk unless passing" rule, as well as "walk single file when part of a couple or group to accommodate oncoming foot traffic".

Just today I was out walking 5 miles when I guess school got out. Kids ( looked to be ages 9-11 or so) were coming down the sidewalks in groups of 4 abreast, none of them making any effort to move into some sort of line to accommodate me approaching them, so the first two groups i walked dead ahead swinging my arms and eventually the kids closest to me squished themselves into the other kids to make room, but still having no concept of moving out of the way of oncoming pedestrians in order to share the sidewalk.

The next group which was two rows of kids, also 4 abreast, I simply stopped in front of the first row when they didn't seem to be equipped with the correct manners and said "everyone stop. When there is someone walking towards you on the sidewalk, it is necessary to share the sidewalk. This means that in our case you need to form a line so that I can walk by you".

These kids looked at me as if no adult had ever taught them or at the very least, checked them. The sense of entitlement that is running rampant in this area being Sammamish Washington, is amazing. East of Seattle, Issaquah on one side, Redmond on the other. The world does not revolve around one person, nor one group of people. I believe these kids are emulating mommy and daddy and not getting the proper manners of being aware of the other people and traffic around them.

The kids listened to me and they did get out of my way, but it's not my job to instill good manners in other people's kids.

For the kids that politely moved aside without needing to be told, (they do exist!) I stopped and thanked them for their politeness. Positive reinforcement.

I am in disbelief of the lack of courtesy; especially in a well educated and fiscally advantaged community. It isn't everyone in this area demonstrating this behavior, but quite a few.

Don't even get me started on how people shove themselves into a place of business before letting the people inside said business out first; people leaving have the right of way of the doorway. Wrote a novel; thanks for providing a place to vent.

Posted by: NorgeSuomalainen
at March 14, 2014 2:15 AM

For those people with such poor manners as to walk in a chorus line forcing people into the street: you are winners on the sidewalk but losers in life. Can you imagine someone like this getting a good job, attracting investors, or any of the other things it takes to be successful? Potential employers, investors, customers, etc. would be horrified by such poor etiquette. Norge is right, its not our job to instill good manners in these people; karma will have its way with them. Don't let it irritate you. Treat them like trees or potholes or anything else in nature that you would sidestep to avoid. In fact, they are so unenlightened and so inhuman, are they not like dumb cows blocking the road? If you adopt this attitude, I assure you that you will walk in peace, while they are constantly stressed by dominance conflicts, peer pressure (I can't walk behind my friends or I will be a loser!), near misses, brushes, and occasionally getting plowed down by my new hero, Frank McKinley (see above). I applaud all the other big guys out there, who are teaching these rude schmucks a lesson.

Posted by: bohica
at March 16, 2014 2:51 AM

This rude bicyclist was riding recklessly down the sidewalk near the local bus stop and almost barrels into two elderly women who were walking at their own pace. Mind that the bicyclist did not have a horn, bell, or something to warn the two ladies that he was riding on the sidewalk. He then wants to start an argument with the ladies and I've seen enough. I told this young man who was apparently off from school to leave the two women alone. He then took off after that. This kid had no respect for his elders and no common courtesy to have a bell or horn on the bike.

Posted by: Stand Up
at April 1, 2014 1:56 AM

People getting on and off the Path train. I notice that many people just don't understand the concept that the people on the train need to get off. Afterwards the people that want to get on the train can, and maybe find a nice seat or place to stand. I notice it is a certain class of people as well. Mostly foreign and many uneducated knuckle heads. They reside from places like Newark or Jersey City. Now don't get me wrong, there are the idiots who dilly dally on the train, they know that their stop is next but the continue to be lost in space. Train stops and now they are scrambling to gather all their crap and get off.

In NYC when women come out from a store and onto a busy sidewalk, they don't bother looking both ways. Instead they shove the door open and throw themselves out onto the sidewalk. At this point in time from doing all that shopping, they are now confused. Some even just stand there on the sidewalk and in the path of the doorway and start to dig around in their bag, as if they forgot what they just bought.

In NJ, people don't have time for stop signs anymore either. Forget the slow and roll, naaa don't even slow down. Just take the turn on two wheels.

Big mama and her big ass goes shopping at the super market. Waddles down the middle of the isle and moves the cart on an angle then proceed to bend over and its full moon time folks. That fat ass leaning over to get the box of cookies, it's like someone parked their Volkswagen in the isle.

Drifters. Idiots in any kind of motor vehicle that can't maintain their lane. Also tailgaters where if I am in somewhat moving traffic and doing 30mph, speed limit is 25 by the way. The person in front of me is doing 30mph, I can't go any faster. So why are you on my ass? I am giving the person in front of me 2 maybe 3 car lengths, but yet the tailgater is riding my slipstream.

OH God the list goes on and on.... There is just so many rude oblivious entitled idiots out there. I say to myself and my wife and friends that if the world ever goes to Hell in a handbag I wont starve. There will be plenty of food for me to eat and it will come rite up to my doorstep. Come to Terminus idiots, come to Terminus.

Posted by: Xsven
at April 18, 2014 7:58 AM

I cannot stand skateboarders who think they own the sidewalk and do not have the courtesy to pay attention to the fact that there are people walking on the sidewalk.
An elderly person and I were walking on the sidewalk and I hear a couple of skateboards coming up and I tell the elderly person "watch out, there's two obnoxious kids coming." The person was confused and I try to walk a different path, but the spoiled bratty children were coming up behind the elderly person so I get in front of the elderly person with room between both of us so that the mean kids on skateboards can whiz by.
The kids never said "excuse me," or anything and they were both listening to their ipods. How rude! I'd like to know where their parents were if these kids have no manners whatsoever.

Posted by: ?
at May 20, 2014 1:49 PM

Well, I have had this happen twice this week and it is not getting better. I was running to catch a bus and on two separate occasions, kids on bikes and scooters going the absolute wrong way almost plow into me. For the kid on the scooter, I told him to watch where he was going and right behind the kid was his mom who refused to correct her child's behavior or even have the courtesy to tell him to stop and let me and two other people by. With the young adult on the bike, he seem not to care when I told him to watch were he was going since he almost cut into another passenger and my path. He too was going the wrong way and appeared to have headphones. If you see someone trying to catch a bus, then have the courtesy to get out of the way.

Posted by: Unhappy
at June 5, 2014 2:31 PM

My pet peeve is when 2 or more people are abreast as they approach me and expect that they can continue their oh-so-important conversation as I move off the path or sidewalk to make room for them. So I don't. Since this will cause a collision due to their obliviousness, I stop walking just before we meet but stay on the path. This forces one them into an awkward maneuver, thus calling attention to their inconsideration, without me initiating any contact or dialog. I want to call them out but not get into a fight.

Posted by: JimG
at June 22, 2014 11:56 PM

Often following a show or sporting event there is a large crowd of people moving down the sidewalk toward the parking lot . Invariably someone lights a cigarette. Who does he think he is?

Posted by: Amy P.
at June 24, 2014 2:58 AM

I live.....(something it seems most people in my building forget). I should be able to leave this building and return to it without being forced to talk to anyone or explain what it is I am carrying or having to take a circuitous route around people who are standing around talking.

The Foyer of our Building is too small to hold more than six average sized people in it and allow people to enter and exit without bumping into someone. I respect when someone is disabled but when eight people in walkers create a maze to walk through while they ignore the doors going from the street to the foyer, and the foyer to the rest of the building it really gets to me. There are some people that use their disabled status as an excuse to take out their anger on those of us who can still get around, even if it is with some difficulty.

I pay my rent just like everyone else, I should not have to be harassed just because i can walk without help and they cannot. It is only fair to think ahead that maybe someone would like to enter and leave the building without having to talk needlessly to rude people.

When i was a kid I was told I would be in a wheel chair the rest of my life. When that proved not to be the case I swore to never look down on a handicapped person(what we called them then). These people in this building have made me come as close to my breaking my promise as anyone ever has and I hate it.

Posted by: Rich
at November 8, 2014 1:11 AM

Good article! I live in Cambridge, Mass. My pet peeve with sidewalk rudeness involves people who insist on walking on the LEFT, instead of the right, which most people do. I have no problem going around them most of the time, but have had a number of experiences with idiots who suddenly came up in front of me, out of the blue, stood there, and demanded that I move out of THEIR way. Yesterday a woman walking in the middle of the sidewalk, actually crossed over to my side, stopped me in my tracks, was six inches from my face, and asked me if I had a "problem". I looked at her in disbelief. Then she took out her cell phone and checked messages. My initial reaction was to punch this defacto bully in her self centered, power trip, "all about me face", but I walked around her.

Posted by: NIck
at November 8, 2014 11:28 AM

I absolutely hate most people because they are rude and inconsiderate. I like in Montgomery county MARYLAND. I constantly encounter rude a$$ person at the store and on side walks. Absolutely no one wants to move over and don't let it be two people abreast because they can't fathom the idea of one of them getting behind the other thus breaking their chorus line to share the side walk. I really think too many Americans are rude, entitled and somewhat autistic. I am a CONSCIENCE person and always move over for people. I'm considering moving to the south because of their gun laws. Southern people are friendlier and respectful.

Posted by: frustrated woman
at November 12, 2014 1:53 PM

I am in my thirties and walk with obvious difficulty. I make frequent use of a cane because of injuries related to military service in Iraq. I also walk pretty slow. This might have something to do with a back broken by shrapnel. I also made the mistake of trying to walk in NYC and NJ.

My cane was kicked out of my hands several times. Not on purpose, most of the time. However, the rude factor came into play because most of the cane kickers didn't even notice or care that they dumped me into the snow. Most of these offenders were so absorbed with their cell phones that they didn't bother even acknowledge that they knocked me over. These people got a hearty invitation for a beat down. Nobody took up on my offer.

Then there are the beautiful people in their fancy cars completely blocking the crosswalk while the walk signal is green in Manhattan. If they were feeling magnanimous, I got just enough room to sidestep between bumpers. Both populations of rude drivers got some choice words from me. The drivers who completely blocked the crosswalk had their car dented "accidentally" with my cane. My cane is specifically made for self defense and is quite sturdy.

Compared to the clean, orderly places like Tokyo and Singapore, NYC is a dystopia. The rude and blatantly arrogant behavior I saw in the Big Apple would get these people's butts kicked and arrested in any halfway civilized place. And why does everything smell like pee and garbage? People from NYC are rude and arrogant about being "natives". Keep feeling that way. New York is terrible.

Posted by: Peter Bland
at November 16, 2014 2:31 PM

1. I use a walker, and I keep to the far right everywhere. Yet people have come up on my right and pushed between the wall and me to elbow me out of the way so they can walk ahead of me. There's never anyone on my left when this happens, so why?
2. In grocery stores, the clerks and shoppers make abrupt 90' turns in front of me or cross in front of me, both when close enough to force me backward. One second to wait is too long?
3. I used to walk for exercise in a mall at 5am. Back then I used a cane. A group of about 18 women came to walk together daily. They made the chorus line described by others. I tried to finish before they came, but sometimes they came early. They walked in the opposite direction to everyone else, including me. When we met, they would stop and I would stop. One would say something about how I had to be the one to go around them because they never break their line. Even on physically tough days for me they would just stand there, unmoving and refusing to move when I asked them, and insisting that it was easier for me to move away from the wall than for them to break the line and let me through. The real answer would have been, IMO, for them to walk in smaller groups and in the same direction as others.
4. Elevators that stop on the ground floor after having come from the top - - why do the people on the ground floor *always* try to jam onto the elevators instead of waiting till everyone gets off?

Posted by: Philippa
at December 22, 2014 6:26 AM

This happens to me almost every time I'm out walking somewhere. I'll be walking down the path sticking to one side, and another person will be walking towards me on the other side. For some reason a lot of people will move from the other side and go directly in front of me as I am walking. I decided whenever people do that I won't budge and just keep walking forward. So what ends up happening is they just move out of the way and they end up looking like fools.

Posted by: Phil
at February 9, 2015 9:21 PM

In NYC there are a lot of psychopaths plowing down the streets, never moving over for anyone. They often bump people as they pass, or just nearly nick them. It's obvious they see other the pedestrain walking towards them. These are just sick psychopaths with giant egos. You wonder sometimes what goes through their brains as they walk in such a manner.

For me, I notice it's usally white people and asians that have this problem. I'm Asian, but I'm very mindful of my personal space in public.

Posted by: Lonie
at March 26, 2016 7:26 PM

Oh, where do I begin? There is a crosswalk up the road from my house which can only be described as a complete nightmare. I'm just trying to cross the street to get to school and 7 times out of 10, I am almost hit by some fucktard. Recently, an incident happened that made me question the intelligence of the entire human race as a whole, and that was when I was crossing the street, some guy decides to go when I am halfway across, and then after I survive that one, the guy across from him decides to come my way and almost hit me. This is the really bad stuff, but there are some major annoyances that are entirely preventable.

This time, I was walking up the street and came across a woman in her 30s, a girl likely no older than 12 and a boy toddler; they were all walking triple-file, leaving me no room to get by, so I had to shimmy by, scraping my legs against sharp bushes while they merrily walked on, oblivious to the fact that they are not the only people in this world. At school, we're a crowded place, but when I accidentally bump into someone, they keep walking into me until I move; it's like they're goddamn robots.

Posted by: Ophelia Bishop
at May 25, 2016 11:00 AM

I find walls of people using the entire sidewalk almost always make a space for me, if they don't I stop and they flow around because not even the most narcissistic sidewalk hog is bad enough to plow straight into me. Until tonight! A group of 4 university students walking towards me, the only option I had was to walk in the street with the cars if they chose to continue their wall. with 2 seconds to go before the collision, the one walking straight into me turned her heads sideways and kept talking to make it obvious she is no longer looking at me so I'd better darn well get into the street then. I stopped and a friend grabbed her and pulled her out of the way.

Grrrr!

Posted by: alex warner
at April 18, 2017 10:44 AM

I was crossing the street when a huge car almost plowed into me making a right turn. They had a stop sign and I was at a crosswalk. I was surprised to see an older couple in the car. I yelled out that this was a crosswalk and they had a stop sign. They kept going and never even looked my way.

That could be a whole other section-Rude senior citizens. I'm not implying that all senior citizens are rude. A lot of older people (as well as younger people) are very polite. I work in a service/entertainment industry so I think we get more than our share of rude people here. I am constantly hearing older people talk about the "decline of civilization" and how all these here younger people are rude and manner-less. The next words out of their mouths are usually "Gimme some change". They take their change as I tell them "good luck" (I work in a casino) and without another word or barely a glance at me, they walk away. And that is the more polite of the rude ones. All that after explaining to their friend how horrible the younger generation is.

Posted by: Becky
at June 22, 2017 8:49 PM

I have experienced the same thing as Phillipa regarding the elevator. I no longer am willing to be "polite" and wait for those people to come onto the elevator before getting off of the elevator. I usually stand right in front of the door and when someone wants to barge in, they get surprised and have to check up and stop dead in their tracks. Then, everyone gets to get off the elevator. I always do this with a smile and say, "pardon me" so they can't really get mad. They don't have a right to mad anyway.

Posted by: Becky
at June 22, 2017 8:58 PM

I just had a "situation" today with a rude (ha, like I'm so perfect) pedestrian. I was walking down the sidewalk and ahead of me I can see a middle aged woman blocking the path with her two dogs. Now, the dogs weren't doing anything wrong. In actuality it wasn't the dogs blocking anything, but it was the two leashes that were completely blocking the path on either side of the woman while her dogs were sniffing about in the grass areas to either side. As I approached she didn't do anything to indicate she'd move to give me way and I was so irritated, I spoke up and said "Can you clear a path, most people wouldn't be so accepting of this situation"(I know that sounded corny but in the heat of the moment, that was exactly what I said lol. At least she moved and gave me way..
Another time I was walking into a restaurant style chain to meet a friend that was already seated at a table, so when I saw a lady ahead of me standing and conversing with the hostess at the podium, I figured I'll just walk around her and head to my table. But no, this lady had her little dog with her, and yes the dog and leash were blocking my way. I asked her to excuse me and she said "there is room, you can walk around. You know what, there was a little room but it was annoying regardless.

Posted by: Antonio Kinsey
at July 15, 2017 7:24 PM

There are loads of things on my list, and many of them are already mentioned here. The people that spread out and don't bother to move, when they see someone walking the opposite direction. I've had one charmer from such a group stare me down and refuse to move. I had to quickly step into the grass (although in part I wish I'd just crashed my shoulder into her lol). Congratulations to her, she's a sidewalk queen!
Dog walkers or people with strollers that think, despite plenty of room to pass, you who are walking opposite should step off the sidewalk so they can have the it all to themselves. I find these people will walk the middle of the sidewalk until the very last second, and cop an attitude. I had this happen from a neighbor tonight. I'd just set out for an evening walk to relax, there was plenty of room, but as we passed she didn't try to keep her dog from darting toward me. I raised my left foot and hopped to the right to avoid accidentally stepping on her dog. I think because I had in my earbuds, she didn't think I'd hear her bleat out a condescending chuckle. Now, this woman has always given me a look and every time her dog wants to have a curious sniff at me, she tells her dog, "It's okay, come on,"with a scowl and in a tone as if the dog was growling or scared of me. Very weird, I have never done anything to her; as for the dog, it's always darting in to have a curious sniff at me. It's certainly not afraid of me. Tonight I confronted her, turned around and took out my earbuds and asked, "Are you okay?" And she again chuckled and said, "Yes, I just hope you are." I asked her again if she was sure she was okay. She was taken aback at being confronted despite her attitude. She tried to blame my safety light on my hip and said it startled her dog, she gave a nasty giggle before claiming so though. Yeah, this one apparently likes to give lots of rude laughs. Told her sorry it startled her (though I knew she was lying, the dog wanted my attention and does every person she passes), and said I wear it to avoid being hit by a car. She seemed to take in my stare for a second and tried to backtrack that it was a good idea, but fell back into condescension, as I said still sorry it scared her. At that point, she kept exclaiming "Oh my God!" But this was just that dramatic oh my god that seems typical of narcissitic people. You know, the kind that make a rude quip and when called out hotly state, "I was just joking, don't be so sensitive!" I told her with all the things going on on the planet these days, have a blessed day.
Maybe I shouldn't have let that one get to me, but as I've said she's always had a unwarranted attitude toward me and that stunt she pulled was the proverbial straw.